The Saints split the season series with Judson 1-1 after Saturday's 58-49 defeat

(Elgin, Ill.) The Saints closed out their current two game road trip Saturday night taking on the Eagles of Judson University. A slow shooting performance by Holy Cross where they shot just 19-for-57 (33.3%) from the floor helped Judson take advantage early in the first half. Although they held the Eagles to just six made field goals in the second half, the Saints came up short falling to the Eagles 58-49, and dropping their second consecutive contest.

Five straight points from Mary Fitzgerald (Livonia, Mich.) gave the Saints an early 5-4 lead; unfortunately, this would be the only time the Saints would have a lead the entire game.

An ensuing 10-to-1 run by Judson had the Saints on their toes and trailing by nine points eight minutes into the first half.

With less than five minutes to play in the half, and trailing 22-13, the Saints turned in a 7-to-2 run capped off by Carmen Lowe (Fort Wayne, Ind.) to cut the game to 24-20 with 2:04 left to play in the half. Judson would close the second half, however, with four straight points to take an eight point lead into the break.

The offense for the Eagles shot an impressive 13-for-23 (56.5%) compared to the Saints 9-for-26 (34.6%). Lindsey Steffen (Nappanee, Ind.) paved the way for the Saints with six points off the bench.

After an early basket from Judson, Holy Cross rallied off four straight points to cut the Eagles lead to six points. An ensuing 7-to-0 Eagles run, however, extended their lead to 37-24 with 16:16 left in the game.

The Eagles took control for the majority of the second half as they extended their lead to as many as 18 points.

One final run by Holy Cross made it a six point game with 3:06 left to play. Missed opportunities would hamper the Saints from getting any closer as they Eagles held on to defeat the Saints by a score of 58-49.

Defensively, the Saints did a much better in the second half forcing difficult shots as the Eagles went just 6-for-21 (28.6%) from the floor. Conversely, the Eagles got the foul line 21 times in the second half and made 17 of their attempts (81%).

The rebounding advantage for Judson also played a major factor in this game as the Saints were outrebounded by more than two times at 43-21.